Half an hour later.
Hikigaya arrived at Hasebe's dorm.
Hasebe made coffee for the three of them, sat beside Sakura Airi and smiled:
"Hiki-pips, you seem to like MAX coffee, right? I just went down to buy this, hurry up and try it, along with the cookies Airi-chan and I baked together."
Hesitation.
"Oh, sorry for the trouble."
Hikigaya drank the coffee with satisfaction before turning to look at Sakura Airi, but feeling the expectant gazes of the two, he suddenly felt some hesitation.
He then looked at the cookies on the table.
They must be expecting his evaluation.
Having been taught by Sakayanagi and the others for so long, he had made some progress; as a class leader, one must also know how to build good relationships with those around them.
"Crunch."
Hikigaya picked up a cookie and popped it into his mouth.
"How is it?"
"Hmm, quite delicious."
Hikigaya nodded frankly.
It didn't compare to Ichinose's, but the taste was quite good.
"Getting down to business."
Hikigaya then turned to Sakura Airi and said:
"Sakura."
"Wait..."
Before he finished, Hasebe Haruka interrupted, saying somewhat speechlessly:
"We've always called you Hikki, but it's so strange for you to keep calling us by our full names. You can just call her Airi, and call me Haruka or Ka-chan. I recommend calling me Ka-chan."
Perhaps she had already accepted him.
Or perhaps she had already adjusted her emotions.
Hasebe Haruka had returned to that talkative self, at least not as sad as yesterday.
"Alright, Airi."
What.
Hikigaya nodded and didn't take it to heart; he was no longer the type to get embarrassed so easily; calling someone by their name was nothing.
"Can you tell me what happened during Class D's Unanimous Special Exam?"
Hikigaya's voice was heavy: "Why did you end up being expelled in the end?"
"Actually..."
Sakura Airi glanced at Haruka.
She was already clear that Horikita Suzune had placed a gag order on the students; once this became known to the whole school.
It would definitely have a huge negative impact on Class D.
However.
She was now a member of Class B.
Thinking for a moment, Sakura Airi made up her mind.
She still explained seriously:
"Mainly, Kushida-san hid her identity and dragged the exam to the stage where a dropout had to be selected."
"???"
As soon as she spoke.
Hikigaya immediately frowned.
Since Sakura Airi said Kushida was hiding her identity, she had clearly figured out the truth.
In that case.
Shouldn't the person most deserving of expulsion be Kushida?
Hikigaya was quite bewildered.
Ignoring the class opinion and forcibly dragging the exam to an irreparable point was indeed feasible.
But.
"Wait?"
Hikigaya frowned in confusion:
"Ignoring the class opinion and forcibly dragging the exam into an irreversible situation... if discovered, it would definitely lower Kushida's evaluation in the class, right? I don't feel she's that kind of person."
"And she doesn't look like someone who cares much about class points. Could it be my misunderstanding?"
In his eyes.
Kushida Kikyou was at most a "green tea" type who wanted to be liked by everyone.
She shouldn't go so far as to do this, right?
"That's right."
Sakura Airi nodded with a somewhat complicated expression:
"Kushida-san seemingly could not bear not being number one, but she lacked confidence in her own talent."
"That's why she wanted to use a gentle appearance and social skills to gain everyone's trust and become the most popular person."
This.
Capacity."
Them.
There wasn't much of a problem.
It fit Hikigaya's view of Kushida very well.
"Back in middle school, it seems Kushida-san was very trusted by her classmates. Whenever they had troubles or worries, they liked to go to Kushida to talk."
"In this way, Kushida-san learned many of her classmates' secrets, and because of that, a lot of pressure built up in her heart."
"Understandable."
Hikigaya couldn't help but nod.
Accumulating pressure was normal; if he had to smile all day at idiots like Ike Kanji and give them insincere praise to comfort them.
To be honest.
Hikigaya believed he couldn't do it.
Too disgusting.
It was normal to accumulate pressure.
"So, it seems Kushida-san posted her classmates' secrets online to vent her inner emotions."
"And then?"
Hikigaya frowned.
"Well..."
Hasebe Haruka asked with some confusion: "Hiki-pips, don't you think what she did was too much?"
"Eh? It's okay, I guess."
Hikigaya didn't care much and said: "I also often complain and comment on some posts online. Haven't you all done that?"
This really didn't count as a big deal.
After all.
In the past, he frequently sent some harassing messages to girls.
Although Hikigaya felt they were just normal greetings, in the girls' eyes they were inevitably harassment.
If what Kushida did was wrong, wouldn't he have to commit seppuku?
In this day and age.
Posts evaluating things are often seen online, so it's not a big deal.
The commenters aren't any more noble than the posters.
As long as the secrets weren't shared with friends around them.
Just posting classmates' matters online meant what Kushida did wasn't a huge deal.
"...Uh..."
Hasebe Haruka was slightly stunned.
Recalling carefully.
She had also once evaluated many things and expressed many views online, and wasn't any more noble than Kushida.
However.
"Then, this matter was accidentally discovered by classmates in the class. Facing the accusations of those around her, Kushida-san seemed to reveal all of their secrets."
Ever?
"In the end, it apparently caused the class at the time to fall into collapse. I heard they even started fighting."
"Uh..."
Hikigaya was suddenly at a loss for words.
Losing her cool as soon as the matter was exposed and directly revealing all secrets, ultimately causing the class to collapse so everyone would suffer.
Hikigaya didn't know what to say.
Childish enough.
Just like a child.
"And then."
Hikigaya asked indifferently.
Anyway.
His relationship with Kushida Kikyou was average, at most being superficial friends who had exchanged contact information.
Looking at it that way.
The current Kushida Kikyou was like a time bomb.
Ready to explode at any moment.
Anyway, that's Class D's business, it has nothing to do with Class B... right?
Thinking of this.
Hikigaya became a bit solemn.
Given Kushida Kikyou's social skills, the Class B people surely wouldn't share secrets that shouldn't be told with her, right?